While modeling, Gigi discovered her passion for photography and turned a hobby into a profession.
By Bianca Posterli
Gigi photographed for D Magazine/Italy by Tobias Zarius.
Gigi Stoll fell into photography the same way she got into modeling: by following the advice of others. Growing up in southern Texas, someone suggested she model, so she did and quickly found herself with an agent. Next thing she knew she was selling her things and moving to Dallas, and within three months was scouted by City Models and flown to Paris.
A modeling career was launched from there, as she immediately booked her first job for Vogue Hommes International, had a photo shoot on the Nile, and worked her way through Europe. “It changed my life. I was working with really amazing photographers; all these people from London, Spain, and Paris, of course.”
In between photo shoots, a friend gave her a Polaroid camera as a present. From there, a lifetime of images was born. “I was in Florence taking pictures and it introduced me to the culture…but it also introduced me to my passion, which is [being a] photographer.” Self-taught, she garnered her knowledge from her experiences in front of the camera and lots of practice. “When I shoot, nothing else exists. It’s such a passion that when I’m doing it I think of nothing else. That’s one of the few times that happens to me.”
Transitioning from model to photographer was seamless for Gigi. From her travels and modeling experience, she knew exactly what she wanted for her images and what her aesthetic would be. “I was fortunate enough to live in all these different places and actually got to live there instead of visiting, so really got to experience it and shoot what I saw.”
Without realizing it, Gigi had begun to work as a photographer. “I had very few pictures at the time, but my agents loved them. I was already starting to amass an archive without even knowing it, and all my friends were beautiful because they were models,” she said. With her on-the-job experience and book of Polaroids, she moved from taking pictures of her model friends for fun into editorial work for fashion magazines, focusing mostly on portraits and nudes. “For portraits, I want to be able to capture something timeless, classic, and beautiful that isn’t a trend.” When she has downtime Gigi also searches for vintage cameras and owns at least 35 at this point, which are housed in doctor’s bags like the one she found in a flea market in Morocco.
Gigi with patients at a hospital in Morocco.
Lately, though, she’s taken on a different focus with her photography. Gigi was approached to travel to
Marrakech with ISMS Operation Kids to document the not-for-profit’s work providing free medical care to those in need. “Volunteer work keeps me down-to-earth, and to give back to these kids is a fantastic feeling that can’t be replaced.” Her volunteer work will continue with an upcoming trip to Peru. And lucky for us she still models on occasion, so we can see her gorgeous pictures—both those she poses for and those she snaps!
Stats:
Agency - Click Models
First Camera- Polariod
Nikon FM2
Pentax 6×7
just moved to digital- Leica M8
Vintage Cameras:
1917 Kodak pull-out accordion
Polaroid 195
Mamiya C22, what Diane Arbus used to use.
Kodak Brownie camera
Favorite photographers:
Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Javier Vallhonrat, Peter Lindbergh, Peter Beard, Bruce Weber, Horst P. Horst, Weegee, Diane Arbus, Lee Miller, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann, etc. etc.
To see Gigi’s work for Modelinia, click here and visit her site at www.gigistoll.com.
